Brussels, Belgium, July 25, 2012 -- IETA welcomes the publication by the European Commission of its proposals on the EU ETS and the opportunity for formal stakeholder involvement. We understand from today’s communication that this process is expected to be finalized before the end of this year.

A change to the auction profile seems the only measure to reduce over-supply in the short-term. However, this is only meaningful if it is done in the context of long-term structural reforms, which will take longer to negotiate and implement.

According to IETA’s President & CEO, Dirk Forrister: “The EU needs to restore confidence in the ETS which is still functioning despite challenging economic circumstances. We believe that a persistently oversupplied market becomes a source of concern over time. Market participants have been anxious while awaiting the release of these documents, and we welcome the start of an exchange of views on what should be the future of this key pillar of the EU’s Energy & Climate policy. We now call on the Commission, Parliament and Member States to act promptly on today’s proposals, to clarify the timelines for adoption and to simultaneously start a discussion on structural reforms of the EU ETS.“

IETA will submit comments to the stakeholder consultation and contribute to the structural reform discussion with a paper after the summer.

Contact:

Simone Ruiz – IETA EU Policy Directorruiz@ieta.org +32 2230 11 60

IETA has been the leading voice of the business community on the subject of carbon markets since 2000. IETA's 155 member companies include some of the world's leading corporations, including global leaders in oil, electricity, cement, aluminum, chemical, paper, and other industrial sectors; as well as leading firms in the data verification and certification, brokering and trading, legal, finance, and consulting industries.